1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to devices for aerating food products, and more particularly to a device for drying washed foods, such as vegetables through aeration. An alternate embodiment contemplates both washing and drying foods, in preparation for consumption, thereby removing undesirable contaminants such as chemical and particulate matter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common practice to clean food products such as fruits and vegetables prior to consumption so as to remove soil and chemical contaminants. Since hand washing is time consuming and inefficient when large quantities of food product are required as in restaurant and other food service industries, mechanical washing devices have been developed.
One such device is revealed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,545 issued to Trotter which discloses a portable vegetable washing container designed to maintain a continuous flow of washing liquid at a constant level whereby water is supplied through upper and lower spray rings, housed within the container, such that items to be cleaned are circulated from the bottom of the container towards the water surface where the items are sprayed in a continuous manner thereby removing contaminants. There are several inherent disadvantages, however, associated with Trotter's device. First, the vegetables remain immersed in water along with the removed contaminants thereby limiting the effectiveness of Trotter's device since the contaminants in solution may recontaminate the vegetables by adhering to the vegetables upon drainage. Second, Trotter's invention makes no provision for drying the saturated vegetables.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,723, issued to Meliconi, discloses an APPLIANCE FOR WASHING AND SPIN DRYING LETTUCE, VEGETABLES AND SIMILAR PRODUCE comprising a basket that is rotatable about a horizontal axis of symmetry internally of a container fitted with a removable lid. Meliconi contemplates spin drying lettuce while allowing water separated by centrifugal force to collect and drain out the bottom. Meliconi recognizes, however, that spin drying can be of limited effectiveness since for produce, especially lettuce, to dry completely it must be rearranged and spun multiple times.
Therefore, the prior art devices have achieved only limited and partial success in automating the food product washing and drying process. In particular, the prior art drying methods of drip drying or spin drying have proven insufficient, and thus, a need exists for an improved means for drying food products such as vegetables and especially lettuce. In addition, there still exists a need for a device that both effectively washes vegetables and thoroughly dries the vegetables, without causing damage or bruising, in a manner that is more effective than mere drip drying or spin drying.